The vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Mr. Hamid Ansari, has denied that there is any move from any quarter to abolish the 'minority character' of the AMU.

Mr. Ansari, who was here recently to receive the first Kalbe Abid Award conferred on him for his distinguished services, told the MG that there was a false propaganda by a section of the media that the university has become a safe haven for the activities of the ISI of Pakistan. He ruled out the possibility of fundamentalists engaging in their activities in AMU.

When his attention was drawn towards the confinement and assault of an IB official by AMU students some time back, Mr. Ansari clarified that the incident had occurred in a peculiar circumstance. He said that a student was dragged into a vehicle by some persons who were in plainclothes. Students felt that he was being kidnapped and as such informed the Proctor about the incident. The VC also pointed out that he had informed the district magistrate and police soon about the incident. Even the Union Home Minister, Mr LK Advani, had been informed about it. Mr. Ansari said that a section of the media carried a misleading report giving a twist to the incident. But he had taken up the matter with the Press Council of India against such newspapers.

The VC poohpoohed a question that the university had refused permission to raid the premises by the district administration and the police but admitted that there were some differences over the method of carrying out raids. Replying to a question Mr. Ansari said ‘we fully cooperated with the district administration on every count. But it did not mean that if a thief is arrested from any locality, the entire residents of that area would earn a bad name.’ He was lavish in praising the cooperation extended by the central and state governments in the functioning of the university.

Mr. Ansari refused to admit that there was a conspiracy by some vested interests to tarnish the image of the AMU. ‘Neither there was a conspiracy by someone to abolish the university's status of a minority character,’ he asserted.

The VC, who had earlier represented India as ambassador to the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates, refused to comment on the Ayodhya dispute. He said that "I am there in AMU to set the academic calendar and I will confine my work to the administration in the university only."

The AMU is one of the biggest universities in the country with about 27,000 students on the campus who have different ideologies and social backgrounds. "But they abide by law and always try to maintain peace on the campus,’ he pointed out.q